KEF LS50 Wireless II

Close to neutral by both ear and measurement. Erin's Klippel data show a mostly neutral speaker apart from a dip around 1–3 kHz, STEREO's lab calls the response very balanced with at most a slight bass lift, and Sound & Vision, SoundStage!, TechRadar and Crinacle hear it as balanced and timbrally honest. A minority hears the same control differently: Andrew Robinson found it a bit clinical, 6moons and one Amazon owner hear it as warm and smooth, and an Audiophile Style owner who compared it with Harbeth P3ESRs and a tube amp heard it as compressed and muddled on streaming services.

“a mostly neutral speaker (other than the dip in the 1-3kHz region) and a very deep soundstage”

Erin's Audio Corner (Klippel NFS)

“The LS50 Wireless II sounds ridiculously good: timbrally honest, spatially precise, and dynamically capable.”

Sound & Vision

“in those instances the wireless twos can come off as a bit clinical”

Andrew Robinson (YouTube)

Full, tight and surprisingly deep for a 130 mm driver, with a clean roll-off in the mid-40s Hz. Sound & Vision heard usable bass to about 45 Hz, and the measurements agree (−6 dB at about 45 Hz). AVForums calls it phenomenal for the size, while SoundStage! found kick drums a bit thuddy and Andrew Robinson thought the control made them sound damped. TechRadar warns it won't satisfy bass-heads, Crinacle notes the size limit, and most sources suggest a subwoofer for films, large rooms or loud playback.

“producing usable, clean, and reasonably dynamic bass to about 45Hz or so”

Sound & Vision

“It also means that the bass response is phenomenal for a cabinet this size.”

AVForums (stands)

“as long as you are realistic about the SPL levels and the bass output below 50Hz”

Erin's Audio Corner

A strength: vocals and instruments sound natural, clear and intelligible at any volume. SoundStage! praises its timbral accuracy, 6moons the realism of male vocals, and What Hi-Fi? hears cleaner-cut mids than the first LS50 Wireless. 6moons adds that female vocals can sound a little smoothed over.

“commendable timbral accuracy with voices and instruments; fast, articulate sound; and a broad, deep soundstage with precisely focused aural images”

SoundStage! Simplifi

“Male vocals especially had a level of realism and presence that I've only heard from much more expensive systems until now.”

6moons (owner-reviewer)

Clean and smooth, never edgy: What Hi-Fi? credits the tweeter's metamaterial absorber, SoundStage! heard no splashiness, and an ASR owner of both generations says the edge of the original is gone. The minority view is that it is too polite: Andrew Robinson missed sheen and sparkle, and LowBeats found it slightly reserved and preferred +0.75 dB on the app's Treble Trim.

“The effect of MAT is clearly heard in the cleanliness of the treble”

What Hi-Fi?

“The high frequencies are sooo smooth that the speaker sounds different, and better.”

Audio Science Review forum (owner of both generations)

“the twos lack sheen or shimmer way up top”

Andrew Robinson (YouTube)

Large and deep for the size. WIRED calls it ultra-immersive, and SoundStage! and AVForums describe a broad, deep stage. Erin and Andrew Robinson both note that depth is its strength and width less so. Placement matters: 6moons lost front-to-back layering near a wall and heard the stage open up in a nearfield triangle.

“The depth and width of the sound stage is significantly improved”

WIRED

“Width of soundstage could be wider”

Erin's Audio Corner

A headline strength. AVForums calls the imaging rock solid, StereoNET spectacular, and 6moons says it images superbly once set up properly. The only qualifier is SoundStage!'s comparison, in which the pricier Buchardt A500 imaged more precisely still.

“That same rock solid imaging and soundstage that the Uni-Q does so well is here”

AVForums

“When set up properly these image superbly.”

6moons (owner-reviewer)

Detailed and nuanced for the price, though voiced to be forgiving rather than analytical. What Hi-Fi?, StereoNET and TechRadar praise its detail. 6moons and Andrew Robinson both say it isn't ruthlessly revealing and flatters older recordings. An Audiophile Style owner heard less detail and separation than in their Harbeth and tube-amp system.

“With a detailed and nuanced sound signature, superb imaging and lots of power, it ticks the audio boxes well enough.”

StereoNET

“If you are looking for an adrenaline rush, sharp transients or the last degree of detail zoom, these aren't the monitors to get.”

6moons (owner-reviewer)

“The sound lacks details, music separation, and sweetness compared to the Harbeth's.”

Audiophile Style forum (dealer-loan owner)

Sources split. Several reviewers heard it play big and clean: SoundStage! (7 ft seat) heard no compression, StereoNET calls it ridiculously loud for its size, and Andrew Robinson found it unflappable. The measurers and some listeners describe a ceiling: Erin puts maximum output at about 90 dB at 4 m, an ASR member found uniform compression at 96 dB/1 m that looks like an amplifier limiter, Sound & Vision heard bass-drum dynamics restricted at concert-hall levels in a large studio until it added a KC62 subwoofer, and 6moons says party levels are beyond it. AVForums sits between: it gets ragged eventually, but only when pushed much harder than expected.

Sources split, and the split tracks setup. WIRED found it surprisingly placement-agnostic moving between stands and a TV stand, a Reddit owner in an open-plan room reports a huge sweet spot near a wall, and the measurements show off-axis sound tracking the direct sound, which Erin says suits small untreated rooms. Others say it rewards care. What Hi-Fi? lists 'best placed on dedicated stands' as a con, AVForums found a smaller sweet spot than one-box rivals, and 6moons heard little depth near a wall but a transformed stage once pulled 8 ft into a nearfield triangle. Most sources tuned it with the app's Desk and Wall modes.

Quiet. The ASR member who measured it calls hiss near zero for an active speaker, and the one owner thread about hiss found it audible only with an ear right next to the cabinet. Crackles and pops that owners report come from Wi-Fi streaming (see ergonomics), not from self-noise.

“Very surprising speaker with near zero hiss noise despite being an active speaker.”

Audio Science Review forum (member measurements)

“The hiss is really audible only when my ear is really close to the speaker.”

r/KEF owner

Very complete for a streaming pair: HDMI eARC, optical, coaxial, analogue and Ethernet inputs, a subwoofer output with app-based bass management, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Roon Ready, Spotify and Tidal Connect, MQA and DSD. The gaps reviewers list are the dropped USB input of the original LS50 Wireless, no RCA or phono input for a turntable, and EQ that stops at desk, wall, treble and bass-extension settings, with no parametric EQ or measured room correction.

“Expensive. No RCA input for turntables or other analog components.”

WIRED

“It's a bit disappointing not to see finite frequency band adjustment.”

StereoNET

“For some reason, KEF didn't put a USB in jack on these.”

Amazon US owner

Sources split between loan-unit reviewers and long-term owners. Reviewers found setup quick and the KEF Connect app stable and well designed; Andrew Robinson calls it one of the most stable smart-speaker platforms he has used. AVForums and LowBeats both had the wireless link between the speakers drop out during testing, and Crinacle found the setup, with its KEF and Google accounts, frustrating. Owners on Reddit and Amazon report Wi-Fi dropouts, crackles on Spotify Connect and latency with some TVs. The usual fixes are the Ethernet cable between the speakers, the 2.4 GHz band or disabling mesh band-steering. Amazon's connectivity mentions run 15 negative to 8 positive.

Sources split between how it is made and how it lasts. Reviewers agree the cabinets are dense, inert and beautifully finished. AVForums rates the fit and finish as good as the passive version's, StereoNET calls it very solidly built, and 6moons, who bought a pair, found no corners cut. Owners report hardware faults the loan reviews could not see: a secondary speaker that stopped playing and needed a replacement pair, units returned after failing to power on, loud pops into an error mode, and random shutdowns that KEF's support traced to the top touch panel. Amazon's reliability mentions run 14 negative to 9 positive.

Sources split, though unevenly. SoundStage! calls it the best deal in hi-fi, STEREO rates its value outstanding, and 6moons says separates at the same price can't match it, since the price covers amplifiers, DAC, streamer and HDMI. Crinacle counters that the same money buys better sound from studio monitors, a subwoofer and a cheap streamer, and an Audiophile Style owner returned it for a separates system. TechRadar and WIRED call it pricey but worth it. Amazon owners rate value 17 to 6 positive, several of them having paid sale prices near $2,000.